Poll: 42 percent back Chuck Hagel nomination

More Americans support Chuck Hagel’s nomination as defense secretary than oppose it, but one-third lack an opinion about the former Republican senator’s bid to lead the Pentagon.

Forty-two percent of Americans support President Barack Obama’s pick, and 24 percent oppose Hagel, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll released Tuesday. The partisan division over Hagel is stark: 61 percent of Democrats support his nomination, compared with 40 percent of independents and 28 percent of Republicans. Thirty-five percent of Republicans oppose the selection, and 37 percent have no opinion.

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Obama selected the Nebraskan, whom he befriended while in the Senate, despite warnings from pro-Israel groups and hawkish Republicans. Those groups object to Hagel’s zeal to cut defense spending, comments he made about the “Jewish lobby” and his reluctance to use military action against Iran.

Opponents had highlighted anti-gay remarks Hagel made in the 1990s, but only 12 percent of Democrats object to his selection. On Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he’d support Hagel’s nomination, eliminating one of the largest obstacles for confirmation in the Senate.